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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Wild Grooming Another Skull-Basher

Matt Kassian was a second round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2005 NHL Draft, and they drafted him for a reason. They needed a backup for Boogey. That’s Derek Boogaard for the uninitiated. Boogaard duked it out with Wild opponents all year in 2006-07 while Kassian was in the juniors waiting his turn. Kassian will most likely start the season for the Houston Aeros again, but the Wild is grooming him nicely for an enforcer spot on the club. The 6-4, 247 pound Kassian is reportedly not as good a skater as Boogaard, but summer power skating sessions have seen improvement. But Kassian’s strong point isn’t his skating, it’s his fighting.

Kassian’s been describe as a new-schooler in fighting technique, but some of the old-school fighters like Georges Laraque have an advantage over the younger guys because of their experience. Fortunately, Kassian has worked out with Laraque in the offseason to prepare him for fights against some of the leagues vets. It probably won’t be long before Wild fans get acquainted with Matt Kassian, he might soon be teaming up with Boogaard to bash some real skull!